Versatile Master of Queen's Music dies By David Brown for The Guardian

Malcolm Williamson, a nightclub pianist who became the first non-Briton to be appointed Master of the Queen's Music, died yesterday, aged 71. The Australian-born composer wrote in every genre of music, including symphonies, stage works, chamber, choral and religious music, and film scores and was noted for his composition of ballet.

His last work was a composition to words by Iris Murdoch, whom he regarded as his tutor in philosophy. The pair sat side by side for the performance of A Year of Birds which was performed at the Proms in 1995 to universal critical acclaim.

One would imagine that being appointed Master of the Queen's Musick – and thus following in the footsteps of Shield, Boyce, Elgar, Walford Davies, Bax and Bliss – would guarantee a composer enduring success. When Malcolm Williamson acceded to the position – on the advice of Benjamin Britten and Sir Adrian Boult – he was the 19th composer since Nicolas Lanier in 1626, and the first non-Briton.

But the honour proved to be a double-edged sword: the appointment marked the beginning of the decline of a career that had enjoyed almost two decades of extraordinary success.

Malcolm Williamson, the Australian-born composer who died on Sunday aged 71, was the first non-Briton to be appointed Master of the Queen's Music, an honorary appointment to the Royal Household established in 1626 by Charles I, of which the duties include composing appropriate music for state occasions.

Williamson, a former nightclub pianist, was extraordinarily prolific and published more than 120 works in every genre of music. His compositions include the operas Our Man in Havana (1963) and The Violins of Saint Jacques (1966); the chamber opera The Red Sea (1972); the operatic sequence The Brilliant and the Dark (1969); and his Mass of Christ the King (1978). He also wrote seven symphonies, concertos for piano, organ, violin, and harp, several works for television and films, and a great deal of vocal, choral, organ, and piano music.

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